Ontario has secured a significant investment from global technology company Amazon thanks to the province's highly skilled workforce, culture of innovation and competitive business climate.

Today, Premier Kathleen Wynne joined leaders from Amazon Canada to officially open the company's new corporate office in Toronto.

Amazon currently employs 600 people at this location and expects to add another 200 positions, including software developers, engineers and programmers. From the Toronto office, these employees will contribute to some of Amazon's highest-priority global technology development projects, including Amazon Fulfillment Technologies, the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant Alexa and Amazon Web Services.

In addition to its corporate office in Toronto, Amazon is creating jobs and opportunities across Ontario by:

Operating four fulfillment centres in the province, employing more than 1,600 associates. One of these centres in Brampton is among the most advanced in the world

Establishing a software development office in Ottawa, with an exclusive focus on development projects for Amazon Alexa

Selecting the University of Waterloo as one of four universities to receive the Alexa Fund Fellowship, a program helping educate students about voice technology and empowering them to create the next big thing.

Ontario will continue to be a global centre for innovation and the development and commercialization of transformative technologies. Key initiatives include expanding access to college and university education by making average tuition free for more than 200,000 students, and increasing our support for next-technology researchers, developers and entrepreneurs through the Business Growth Initiative.

Keeping Ontario at the leading edge of research and innovation is part of Ontario's plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quick Facts

Amazon opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in 1995 and seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company.

Ninety per cent of the jobs at Amazon’s Toronto office will be highly skilled technical positions. With these new positions, Amazon will employ over 2,000 people in Ontario.

Amazon joins tech leaders such as Facebook, Thomson Reuters and Shopify in choosing Ontario to do business and develop next-generation technologies.

Ontario’s tech sector employs approximately 430,000 people. The province’s Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy builds on the strength of our education system to help prepare people for the technology- and knowledge-based jobs of tomorrow.

Additional Resources

Quotes

“Ontario has all the right conditions to lead the world in innovation and technology. Companies like Amazon are coming to our province because of our diverse and highly skilled workers and our strong business sector. I am pleased that Amazon is expanding here — giving people well-paying, rewarding jobs and driving continued innovation in Ontario.”

“I am so pleased that a global company like Amazon has chosen Ontario as a location for groundbreaking research and technology development. Amazon has clearly recognized the vast potential of Ontario’s world-class talent pool and culture of innovation.”

“Ontario continues to attract investments from the world’s biggest tech companies by offering a competitive business climate that fosters innovation. This commitment from Amazon will create high-quality jobs and strengthen Ontario’s position as a leading centre of technology.”